


Don't trust the Bat

by Fleur_de_Violette



Series: Whumptober (more like hurt/comfortober-november-december) 2020 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Broken nose, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Canon temporary character death mentioned, Claustrophobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Waking up Restrained, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fleur_de_Violette/pseuds/Fleur_de_Violette
Summary: Jason wakes up strapped up to a cot in the cave. He only knows one thing. He can’t trust Bruce.Whumptober day one: waking up restrained
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Series: Whumptober (more like hurt/comfortober-november-december) 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984960
Comments: 8
Kudos: 234





	Don't trust the Bat

**Author's Note:**

> I so I decided to do whumptober at the end of the month, so I’ll probably end the prompts in November/December (and maybe even later). I’m also not doing them in the right order because at this point, I’m not really doing the challenge (though, the rules said it’s okay to just use the prompts, even after October, so I’m gonna do that.). Also, it’s not exactly whump? More like hurt/comfort. Anyway, enjoy the fic !

Jason woke up screaming. 

It wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Nightmares were a common thing for him, even before…before. Except this time, he didn’t calm down after a few minutes. His mind kept yelling at him to run away and he couldn’t. 

Something wasn’t right. 

Why couldn’t he move?

(Was the tick-tock next to him real or just in his head?) 

He focused on his arms and legs. He needed to move. To get out. He had to get out before… before what? He didn’t know. 

Something was restraining his limbs. 

_Something was restraining his limbs._

So, Jason did the only thing he could. 

He started screaming again. 

He stopped when he sensed a presence next to him. Maybe screaming was a bad idea. Maybe he had alerted his captor. Maybe someone wanted to hurt him. He looked up at the stranger, and for one second, his face was twisted in a horrible smile, before morphing back into someone he knew. 

Bruce. 

The man spoke very slowly, remembering Jason of the Batman talking to a victim.

“Jason. You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Jason pulled at his restrain. 

“Let me out!” he yelled, ignoring the question. Bruce grimaced.

“You’ve been dosed with fear toxin. We need to be sure you won’t hurt yourself or other before undoing the restraint. Do you understand?” 

He didn’t trust Bruce. He didn’t know why he was strained in the cave, but he didn’t trust Bruce. He couldn’t trust Bruce. He made the mistake once of following him, he wouldn’t make it twice. 

“Let me out!” he repeated, tear on his eyes, now. He had to get away. Was Bruce finally done with him? Was he sending him back to Arkham? If so, why the charade?

“I need to be sure you won’t run or hurt yourself before I do that.” Repeated Bruce, still calm. And yeah. Like hell Jason wouldn’t run away.

“Please…” he pleaded, all dignity out the window, fully crying now. He needed the restraints off. 

Bruce sighed and slowly, very slowly, too slowly, undid the restraints on his arms. 

Jason immediately punched Bruce in the face, feeling the satisfying crack of a broken nose, before he started working on his legs.

He made it halfway to the door when Bruce stopped him, tackling him to the ground. They fought for some time, before Jason spotted a grappling gun abandoned on the floor. 

Good enough. A gun was still a gun. He pointed it at Bruce who froze immediately, hands in the air. 

None of then moved for a long time. 

“I’m not gonna hurt you. You’re safe here, Jay. I need you to trust me.” 

Jason shook his head.

“I can’t.” 

Bruce took a deep breath. 

“Who would you trust then? Alfred? Tim or Dick?”

Jason shook his head again. These three could very much be working with Bruce to get him out of the picture. He knew they appreciated him. He also knew they were loyal to Batman. 

“Starfire? Arsenal?” 

Jason hesitated for a second before shaking his head. His Bruce offered, he probably had Roy and Kori on his side too.

And then he looked past the barrel of the grappling gun. He looked at Bruce. 

The man was utterly a mess. He had that desperate look Jason came to know over the year, and blood running all over his face.

Some part of him, the Robin part of him he thought had died in Ethiopia with the closest thing he had to a childhood, hurt at the sight. 

He did this. He hurt Bruce, put that look on his face. 

Slowly, very slowly, he lowered the gun. 

“Bruce?” His voice was small, afraid. He felt like a child he never was. 

“I’m here, Jay. I’m not leaving you. You’re safe.”

He still had trouble trusting him. 

“We need to put the IV with the antidote back. Would you let me do it? Or do you want Alfred?” 

Jason looked at the cot he had been strapped in. Sure enough, there was an IV pole there, and his right arm was bloody from where he pulled it in his run. He hadn’t even realized. 

He looked at the bed, then at Bruce, then at the exit. 

“Can we do that outside? I need to be outside.” He still had yet to let go of the gun. The need to go out hadn’t really reached him until he talked about it, but now, it was hyper present. The cave was too small, suffocating. He knew he struggled with claustrophobia, but he never had a problem with the cave before. Maybe the fear toxin, or whatever it was (he still didn’t know if he could trust Bruce) was messing with that too. 

“Will you run away if I open the door?” Bruce asked. He didn’t seem to trust Jason when the former Robin shook his head. If Jason was being honest, he had every reason not to. 

“Don’t restrain me again.” He asked, still looking at the exit, and Bruce took a deep breath, apparently thinking about something. 

“Would it be okay if I hold your hand?”

 _What?_

“What?” 

That was ridiculous.

“Would it be okay if I hold your hand? So you don’t run away.” 

“No, I heard but…” 

He thought about it. Really thought about it. About his options. Then nodded.

Still in slow motion, Bruce reached toward him. He kinda felt like one of the feral cats Damian was regularly trying to tame. 

And then Bruce touched his hand. 

He felt like an electrical shock at the touch, flinched, and removed his hand.

He couldn’t trust Bruce. _He couldn’t trust Bruce._

But Bruce just took a step back. Kept looking at him. 

“Okay. Do you want to try again?” 

Jason took one breath. Then another. Tried to calm down. Soon he would be out. 

He let go of the gun, which fell on the ground. And, as slowly as any of the previous actions, he extended his arm toward Bruce.

The man eyes lighted up and the Robin inside Jason, the one he thought was dead and buried, found the strength to smile. 

This time, when their hands connected, he didn’t get away. 

They walked awkwardly toward the exit. Once outside, Jason took a breath of air that felt like his first one in ages. Bruce didn’t let go of his hand. 

They sat on the grass. 

Bruce used the hand not holding into Jason to get his phone, typing rapidly. 

“I’m calling Alfred.” He explained. “So he can get the IV for you and do something about…” he vaguely gestured toward his broken nose. Jason wanted nothing more than to disappear in that moment, shame washing over him. 

Bruce squeezed his hand. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re fine. You’re safe.” 

And maybe. Maybe. Jason could start trusting him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story! Stay tuned for the rest if you did! Also, I don’t know why but my Antidote corrector keep counting ‘Batman’ as a place. (And yes, I’m using Antidote, I got it from my previous job and I’m not nearly using it at its full capacity).


End file.
